Gottman says, "“Happily married couples aren’t smarter, richer or more psychologically astute than others. But in their day-to-day lives, they have hit upon a dynamic that keeps their negative thoughts and feelings about each other from overwhelming their positive ones. The more couples are able to understand, honor, and respect each other and their marriage, the more likely they will indeed live happily ever after.”

Honor and respectFondness and admiration are two of the most crucial elements in a rewarding and long-lasting romance.

Although happily married couples may feel driven to distraction at times by their partner's flaws, they still feel that the person they married is worthy of honor and respect.

Enhancing your fondness and admiration isn't complicated. Think about your partner's positive qualities. What do you appreciate about them? What do you cherish?

Thank you, Laura and Matt, for sharing with me these very kind words..."Thank you for being a special part of our wedding day. We cannot say enough nice things about you! The ceremony was truly perfect and our favorite part of the entire day. We felt that Matt's dad Pat and our grandparents were right there with us. It was a very emotional and love-filled ceremony - and it fit us perfectly. You did an outstanding job capturing how we felt and putting it into words. We loved working with you! You were a pleasure to work with and surpassed our expectations. We are so happy you were there with us. Our guests were impressed with you as well and it was the perfect experience and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day."

I could not have described this wedding couple any better than Kalli from Kallidoscope Photography did in her blog post about Laura and Matt's wedding. Even I was teary eyed and had to work hard to keep it together during the ceremony. (For more photos from this wedding be sure to click on the link above to her blog post.)

"Matt & Laura were wed in Verona on the farm that has been in their family for over 100 years, a gorgeous landscape holding one of the tallest points in Madison and overlooking the state Capitol. During their engagement session (which took place in the exact spot where there ceremony was!), I remember walking away thinking “Dang, I just want to be friends with these people and hang out every weekend!”. It’s no secret that I cry at 99% of the weddings that I shoot but this wedding was different. As I stood in a puddle of tears during the ceremony, I couldn’t help but feel immensely blessed to be in the presence of such overwhelming love.Matt is SUCH a “lover” — he loves life, he loves family, he loves his friends, and most importantly he loves Laura more than life itself. This man loves HARD — I have never seen such passion in another person’s heart where you can FEEL the love radiating off his fingertips and into whoever he touches. What perhaps is even more spectacular is the way that Matt looks at Laura. As you sift through these photos, take note of the adoration on Matt’s face because he truly cherishes this woman in the most amazing way. Every single bride deserves to be looked at the way Matt gazed at Laura on their wedding day… I will never forget it.During the reception, we snuck away for sunset photographs and I stopped shooting after a few minutes to ask them what their favorite part of the day had been so far. Laura’s response: “Being married. That’s all we’ve been waiting for” which was quickly followed up by Matt’s response: “I’ve been waiting so long to call her my wife. I can’t believe it… I can’t believe how lucky I am.”. THIS right here — this is why I shoot weddings. This overwhelming power of love, partnership, devotion, and respect. Couples who put aside the frills of a wedding day to focus on the true meaning of marriage.Matt & Laura, I was so honored to witness your wedding day from behind the lens. Congratulations on this beautiful new chapter & I can’t wait to see the love that follows you through the rest of your lives together! xo"

How was your day, dear?Learning to cope with pressures and tensions outside your relationship is crucial to the long-term health of your marriage, according to research by Neil Jacobson.

The most effective way to do this is to reunite at the end of the day and talk about how it went. We call this the “How was your day, dear?” conversation, or more formally, the Stress-Reducing Conversation.

The one rule is that you can't talk about your marriage. This is not the time to discuss issues between you. Instead, it's an opportunity to support each other emotionally concerning other areas in your lives.

If you have this sort of conversation every day, it can't help but benefit your marriage.

Thank you Amanda and Andy for writing such a nice review for me on Wedding Wire. I'm blushing at your words of praise and am so grateful to have gotten the chance to have worked with both of you. May your marriage be blessed with as much abundance of love, joy, and happiness that we felt on your wedding day.

"Pat Werk of Koru Ceremony did a fantastic job for our ceremony! We could not have asked for an easier and more relaxing planning process leading up to the wedding. The entire ceremony was catered to us as a couple and we received an overwhelming amount of compliments of guests saying that the ceremony was their favorite part of our big day! She traveled out of her way to be a part of our wedding weekend and happily attended our rehearsal and reception to get to know us better as a couple. Last minute the afternoon of the wedding, we asked Pat to add in a part to our ceremony for a wine box that my dad made for our 5th anniversary. She so eloquently came up with a quick add in to chat about the importance of the box and the notes we each wrote in the box for each other to read in 5 years. I can't recommend Pat enough! Thanks, Pat, for making our ceremony so memorable and stress free!"Amanda and Andy married on August 5, 2017 at Andy’s parents house in Menasha, WI

If you remember the 1991 movie “Father of the Bride” with Steve Martin and the beautiful backyard wedding he threw for his daughter (Kimberly Williams) you will get a small sense of what this wedding on the shores of Lake Winnebago was like. What an incredibly gorgeous wedding that Amanda and Andy planned for their family and friends, celebrating the joining together of two fabulous families and their deep love for one another.

Their amazing and talented photographer Jenna Kutcher described their wedding like this and I couldn’t agree more:Andy and Amanda’s day was nothing short of jaw dropping. We called it the “Father of the Bride” wedding of the year but even that couldn’t sum up the beauty of their day. Andy’s parents home settled on Lake Winnebago provided the most incredible backdrop for their ceremony where they promised forever in the spot that Andy played as a child. After their ceremony guests loaded up the trolleys while the french horn quartet played and went to a spot sacred to the Waite family, the place where Andy’s parents wed years ago.The North Shore Golf Club was transformed by Cherry Blossom Events for their reception where guests dined, enjoyed signature cocktails, and danced (oh, did they dance) the night away to the Michael Walters Orchestra. It was the party of a century filled with gracious, kind, joy-filled friends and family that travelled from far and wide to celebrate with the newlyweds. Andy and Amanda has a comfort to their relationship that could only be described as the perfect fit and that perfect fit became husband and wife in an unforgettable day with beautiful details, beautiful love stories, and beautiful vows that will stand the tests of time.

Amanda and Andy's wedding yesterday may have been my most memorable this wedding season. Not only were they the sweetest couple that I LOVED working with, but their wedding was breathtaking!! The level of detail that Amanda and Andy (and their family) went to, along with the help of one of my favorite wedding planners, Sarah Sarbacker at Cherry Blossom Events, to create the most heartwarming, but gorgeous celebration was outstanding. I was blown away by their ability to perfectly balance the look of their stunning wedding with their love for one another and their amazing family. It was inspiring to be there to witness Andy and Amanda's love and I was honored to be a part of their special day. Congratulations!! I look forward to seeing more photos by the super talented Jenna Kutcher!

I just received a really sweet review written for me more than a year after their wedding day. Most couples would have moved on, but I'm so appreciative that Rachel and Kyle still took the time to write a review for me on Wedding Wire. Here are a couple of photos from their wedding at Milford Hills Hunt Club last July.

"We worked with Pat for our ceremony. If you want to feel like you're working with someone who genuinely cares and is invested in you and your love story, she is the person to have. She made us feel comfortable through the entire process. We loved her!"

When I wrote to Rachel to thank her for writing this review her response back was this: "We still receive compliments from friends and family and periodically read parts of our ceremony over again (I had it added to our photo album). We are still over the moon with how special our day was and I still wish we could go back and do it all over again. Thanks again (a year later!) for being such an important part of our day!"

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Welcome to our blog. As an officiant and wedding coordinator I delight in assisting couples celebrate one of the best and most memorable days of their life. I hope you find this blog to be a source of inspiration and joy.